Q: Why are some turbines spinning but not others? Is the wind farm operating now?

A: As construction of the stage one turbines continues, the process of energisation and commissioning has started for the first group of turbines. 

Energisation is when equipment—like a substation or wind turbine—is connected to the electricity grid and powered up for the first time (think of it like plugging in a new appliance at home and switching it on to make sure it works). For the Wambo Wind Farm project, the energisation stage involves the testing of Powerlink’s substation connection to the electricity grid and each turbine. 

Commissioning is the process of testing and checking everything to make sure it works properly and safely. For a wind turbine, this includes: 

• Making sure the blades spin correctly

• Checking the electrical systems

• Ensuring it can safely send power into the electricity grid

It’s like giving the whole system a test run before it starts full-time work. 

Following stringent and thorough testing of all facets of the wind turbines and substation, the first collector group of wind turbines are energised – that's when you can see the turbines start spinning for the first time. Further testing is then conducted, including reliability runs in which the wind turbines must operate for a set period of time without significant fault. 

Once testing is complete and signed off, the first 6 wind turbines will be commissioned and will begin feeding approximately 36 MW of clean energy into the electricity grid. 

This process will be conducted progressively with groups of turbines until all of stage one’s turbines are commissioned and producing energy for Queensland’s homes and businesses.